Leinster Rugby v Dragons

For the 59 players that pulled on
a Leinster jersey to date, they
know that they contributed
to a record fourth Guinness
PRO14 title in a row. It is a
remarkable achievement.
There have been highs and there
have been lows.
European delight, to European despair.
It’s all been there. And while it has
been a season of huge change and
uncertainty, there is one thing that hasn’t
changed.
By the end of this evening, this band of
brothers, the 2020/21 band, will never
be in a dressing room together again.
As sure as night follows day, every
season has that same sense of finality.
“It really is one of the tough things about
being a professional rugby player,”
reflects James Ryan, the young Leinster
and Ireland lock forward.
“These players, they become like your
family. You spend so much time with them
and so much of your energy and your
day is with them, ups and downs with
them and then it’s over. Players move on
and you have to get used to life without
them.
“Look at Ferg and Rob, they are gone a
year now but again you still miss them
because they were such key figures
in there. I still miss them around the
changing rooms.
“It is quite a brutal reality like that, once
next week finishes up and the last training
session is done, that’s it. Lockers will be
cleared out and your mates move on.”
Ryan, may only be 24-years-old but
he has been around this set-up and the
environment long enough now to know
good eggs when he sees them.
Fergus McFadden and Rob Kearney
were good ‘uns.
And he knows that in Scott Fardy and
Michael Bent, Leinster Rugby are saying
goodbye to two of the finest.
Only this week, Stuart Lancaster when
discussing Fardy’s legacy referred to
him as the ‘forwards Isa Nacewa’, while
last week, Robin McBryde was equally
effusive in his praise of the quiet and
unassuming Bent and the lasting legacy
From The Ground Up | 14 | www.leinsterrugby.ie